Community Forums

we_travel · 08-10-2018, 06:50 AM

Yeah, despite the upside to RV'ing, some campgrounds are just too much! We just got back from a 10 day trip.

We stayed at a Good Sam park, their price was $10/night higher than a few nearby chain motels (with free breakfast, WiFi, HBO, etc.). They never answer their phone (our camping buddy left 3 messages trying to book a few nights there to meet up with us), they had no book exchange library, & when I asked about trash disposal, they pointed to the dumpster location which was about a 1/2 mile+ at the other side of the park. (turns out the advertise in the Good Sam media, rate themselves as a "10", but are actually not a Good Sam park, as was explained to me by GS Member Services??)

Another night we were at a park, no cable tv but they had "WiFi". When the signal was so weak that I checked with the office, they told me "yeah, we know that & have been trying to get the owner to upgrade their old system". She said it rarely works.

Another park, we could not stay there because our Class A is over 10 years old (though it looks pretty damn good & is well maintained. I sort of get their point but what about the poor couple who spends $200-$300k on their retirement toy, only to find out in 10 years they will be locked out of some parks? That will of course, make reselling an older rv a bit more difficult.

I know it's not a well ordered world but, geeesh, aren't RV Parks supposed to be in the hospitality business? (and yes, we have stayed in many damn great places as well). I am finished venting.

JohnH12 · 08-10-2018, 06:58 AM

They won't upgrade anything as long as they stay filled or at least stay profitable.
I'm not sure how they get away with the Good Sam claim without legal action filed against them.

Hit_the_Rhod · 08-10-2018, 07:27 AM

Our coach is 18 years old and we have only been denied entry into a park once. Even those who have a "10 year rule" give it a pass if they see a pic of our rig. The one park that denied entry was in Florida, near Boca Raton. We made reservations about 2 months out, they asked for type of rig, and length, nothing about age, brand, etc. We drove up, they gal at the desk looked out the window, said "nice looking coach!" I replied, Yep, not too shabby for a 15 year old is it? A gal from back raised her head from the computer she was working on, pointed to a small sign over the counter that said something like "No RV's over 10 years old allowed!" I pointed out that ours looked nice, they never told me about any age restrictions, and it is not on their website, but it made no difference. Then the gal in back said I would forfeit my deposit since "I didn't meet their requirements". Like Hell!

Anyway, I got my deposit back, we found a small park nearby that was nice, cheaper, and was glad to have our coach for 5 days.

Oh, and the coach behind ours at the check in was a small C class, maybe 5 years old and seriously, it looked like it had spend at least 2 years of that 5 submerged in a swamp, then lived in by hobo's! . . . . but it was less than 10 years old!

Anyway, long story for short lesson, don't let the age scare you, you likely won't run up against the "rule" very often, and if you do, there are other parks, probably not as pretentious either. Good luck, and welcome to the forum!

johnhicks · 08-10-2018, 08:26 AM

I check campgroundreviews.com and campendium.com and simply avoid those sorts of parks. Good Sam is meaningless.

We've been flat turned down due to age just once; it was an rv/trailer park in Indiana. The park is at the intersection of two interstates (nice and quiet!) and on their website the photos reveal a motorhome that's the exact same make and model as ours.....25 years old!

JGW · 08-10-2018, 09:44 AM

AMEN!!!

twogypsies · 08-10-2018, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by we_travel

We stayed at a Good Sam park, their price was $10/night higher than a few nearby chain motels (with free breakfast, WiFi, HBO, etc.). They never answer their phone (our camping buddy left 3 messages trying to book a few nights there to meet up with us), they had no book exchange library, & when I asked about trash disposal, they pointed to the dumpster location which was about a 1/2 mile+ at the other side of the park. (turns out the advertise in the Good Sam media, rate themselves as a "10", but are actually not a Good Sam park, as was explained to me by GS Member Services??)

I don't understand the Good Sam reply to you. In Good Sam's listing did the park actually have a 10/10/10 rating included in the ad? If so, then they were 'inspected' by Good Sam. If the park had their own ad and just stated that they were a '10' park then that was their own rating, not Good Sams.

Don't get me started on Good Sam's ratings.

Be sure to post your experience on campgroundreviews.com to alert others. Post all your stays.... good or bad. It really does help.

As far as Wifi…. most folks nowadays have their own system for internet. You can't rely on the parks.

MSHappyCampers · 08-10-2018, 03:24 PM

Hi !

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Yup, we've all run into a few of those!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

we_travel · 08-11-2018, 06:17 AM

I called Good Sam to ask how they rate parks when they have no way for actual campers to post reviews. They told me that since this park pays them to advertise, they can use the Good Sam logos.

we_travel · 08-11-2018, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnH12

They won't upgrade anything as long as they stay filled or at least stay profitable.
I'm not sure how they get away with the Good Sam claim without legal action filed against them.

I called Good Sam to ask how they rate parks when they have no way for actual campers to post reviews. They told me that since this park pays them to advertise, they can use the Good Sam logos.

UTTransplant · 08-11-2018, 06:59 AM

I think you now understand why many of us totally ignore the Good Sam ratings. campgroundreviews.com is a much more accurate site for campgrounds. You do have to read the reviews, not just look at the number though. I have seen campgrounds rated a 1 because they didn’t have good OTA television channels. The reviewer didn’t seem to think that being 200 miles from a city and in a canyon was a good enough reason to not have TV LOL!

Fiesta48 · 08-11-2018, 07:05 AM

GS rating system is an opinion and you know what that means.....
RV park reviews have to be be taken with a grain of salt too.
Move on if you don't like it.

Hit_the_Rhod · 08-11-2018, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twogypsies

I don't understand the Good Sam reply to you. In Good Sam's listing did the park actually have a 10/10/10 rating included in the ad? If so, then they were 'inspected' by Good Sam. If the park had their own ad and just stated that they were a '10' park then that was their own rating, not Good Sams.

Don't get me started on Good Sam's ratings.

Good Sam Ratings are much the same as BBB (Better Business Bureau) ratings. The best ratings $$$ can buy. With BBB, in some cases, if you have "bad reviews" you can up your level of sponsorship and they all go away, and you come out with an A++ rating. It really just means that their check to BBB cleared the bank.

G.G. · 08-11-2018, 08:29 AM

We always check campgroundreviews.com, rvparky.com, and now we've added campendium.com. As mentioned, we read the reviews to see if what interests us is mentioned, but we also note the rating. Reading the reviews gives us a good feel if we'll want to stay. We have a 12 yr.-old coach and have never been asked nor been denied staying somewhere.

Mr_D · 08-11-2018, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hit_the_Rhod

Good Sam Ratings are much the same as BBB (Better Business Bureau) ratings. The best ratings $$$ can buy. With BBB, in some cases, if you have "bad reviews" you can up your level of sponsorship and they all go away, and you come out with an A++ rating. It really just means that their check to BBB cleared the bank.

Yep, back when we started a business the BBB wanted us to join. For $500 they'd give us a 5 year rating with no complaints. Didn't bother to join.
Filed a complaint against a dealer with both BBB and attorneys general. Dealer outright lied in the BBB letter and BBB closed the complaint even though I filed an appeal. However the AG's office agreed with us and we got the free TV.